


Protect

by Missingwings



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Cloud is reincarnated into a Nibel wolf, F/M, Reincarnation, Zack Fair Lives, and he dies within the first few paragraphs, changes happen, the major character death is literally just Cloud, then wakes up as a wolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 07:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16970064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missingwings/pseuds/Missingwings
Summary: (Based on tumblr 10kiaoi’s AU idea): Cloud died in the Nibel reactor after being stabbed by Sephiroth but his consciousness was transferred to a nearby wolf which proceeds to trail after Zack like a (literal) lost puppy once Zack breaks out of the labs. Or: Cloud dies and is reincarnated as a Nibel Wolf, and four years later helps Zack break out of the labs and outrun Shinra. Canon begins, and changes ensue.





	Protect

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on something I saw on Tumblr. The thought was “What if Cloud actually died at Nibelheim, but his consciousness possessed a nearby wolf, and when Zack leaves the lab Cloud follows behind him like a lost puppy?” or something like that. And… well… I really like that idea. So I ran with it.

**** Cloud choked out a cough, gripping his chest and gasping for air. He stumbled as pain coursed through him, the edges of his vision going black.

_ Zack… _

He could see his friend and superior lying face-down on the stairs. A fist clenched around his heart, and he hoped to all hope that the SOLDIER was not dead.

He stumbled, vision flashing for a moment. When he blinked, he found himself lying on the stairs next to Zack. His vision was fading, but he needed to let Zack know that things had been taken care of. That he had done it.

“Zack…” He coughed. “I-I did it. I… I beat Sephiroth.” Everything was going dark and everything  _ hurt so much _ , but he forced his hand out, reaching over to put his hand on the brunette’s head. “Everything… will be… will be okay now… right?” His eyes started sliding closed. “I think… this is it… for me.” He swallowed roughly. “I… I don’t… want to die.”  _ I’m not ready yet… I… I wanted to make it into SOLDIER. Can’t I… Can’t I stay here? Even if I don’t make it into SOLDIER… _ Cloud’s eyes closed, final thoughts echoing, resonating.

_ … I want to live… and help him… _

**. . .**

He was surrounded by dancing streams of green energy, floating around him in the dark. Voices whispered, weaving around him and drowning each other out.

_ So young… _

_ Not his time… _

_ Too soon… _

_ … fix… _

_ … needed still… _

Cloud listened with bewilderment and unease. There… There was still something he needed to do. He couldn’t… remember. He knew that he needed to, but the memories kept slipping out of his grasp. It was so  _ important _ though… It was about his friend… right?

Friend?

_ Zack. _

_ Sephiroth. _

He had to get back! He couldn’t leave Zack, he couldn’t die already-

_ “All souls exist in a cycle. Even those who die will one day come back.” _

_ “Will Dad come back?” _

_ “Eventually. You may not recognize him immediately, but he will return.” _

_ “Will you recognize him, Mom?” _

_ “Hmm… I like to think that I would.” _

No, no, no! He couldn’t! Going through the cycle would take too long! He had to go back  _ now! _

He flared out with his mana, the little bit that he had left. He reached desperately for anything that would take him back, anything that could possibly allow him to go back to his friend.

_ Impossible… _

_ … poor thing… _

_ … new path… _

_ … new life? _

_ … shortcut… _

_ … memories intact? _

_ … challenge… yes. _

_ … accept… soul? _

_ … we try. _

_ You… lead…? _

_ Yes. _

Cloud frowned at the whispers as he caught bits of phrases. What was-?

His thought was cut off as he felt a force wrap around him, pushing against him while pulling him away at the same time. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but it was a highly uncomfortable and disorienting sensation. He felt like he was being changed, molded into a different and unfamiliar shape. He couldn’t move, couldn’t struggle, as they tugged him into the shape they wanted, then shoved him forward.

Pure white flashed across his vision, and then his world turned dark once again.

**. . .**

Several miles into the mountains away from the destroyed Nibelheim and the reactor, a Nibel Wolf licked her newborn pups clean. There were four of them, three large brown ones and a smaller and more golden one. That one got most of her current attention.

Smaller pups were always weaker, and it wasn't uncommon for them to die young. But this one… he was special. She could sense his connection to the Lifestream, could feel his hidden strength.

He was small, but he would be strong. Of that, she was certain.

**. . .**

Cloud stumbled over his feet as he moved towards the warmth. He wasn't entirely sure as to what was going on, as he couldn't open his eyes, had four legs and an extra limb, and could sense three small bodies and one large one around him.

He was confused, but the large one made him feel safe. For now, that would have to be enough.

**. . .**

Everything fell into place after two weeks, when he opened his eyes for the first time.

All he could see was a large mass of brown, and it took him a few moments to realize what it was.

Fur.

He blinked and shifted around, pausing as he caught sight of his body for the first time. He tilted his head and moved his back foot- paw, back  _ paw _ \- and confirmed what he'd suspected. Yes, that was his body. Yes, he had fur and-

Dear Gaia he actually had a  _ tail _ .

He shifted it carefully, then stared in disbelief as it actually moved.

What the hell was going on?

He finished turning around and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large cave, glowing with thin veins of… materia? Was that even possible? He dismissed the sight as temporarily unimportant, and continued examining. His ears flicked around to catch surrounding noises, pricking as he registered the nearby sound of wind, and the distant sound of flowing liquid. Water? No, it had a lighter quality to it, with the faintest sound of whispering. Flowing mako, then. Hardly uncommon around the Nibel mountains, thanks to the reactor. Mako caves were fairly common, though people avoided them due to the possibility of being affected by any residual Mako.

Right next to him, however, he could clearly hear the now familiar sound of steady pounding of four hearts. He flicked his ear back and turned to see what was attached to that heart, freezing as he turned and looked directly into the glowing eyes of a Nibel Wolf.

His entire body tensed as the wolf leaned towards him, then involuntarily relaxed as she licked his head and rumbled in amusement.

His mind flashed back to his fur and tail, and to the feeling of being bent into another shape by the voices. Everything fell into place and he swallowed at the realization.

He'd been reborn as a Nibel Wolf.

Gaia help him.

**. . .**

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be, Cloud admitted grudgingly.

Once he’d gotten used to walking on four legs (and having a Gaia-forsaken  _ tail _ ) moving around had become easier… as long as he avoided the other pups. They didn’t seem to mind when they bowled him over, and every time they did he got closer to biting them. It wasn’t  _ his _ fault that he was smaller than them! Still, at least there wasn’t any malicious intent when they did it. They just seemed to be incredibly unaware of their surroundings.

They were just pups, after all. It was hardly surprising.

Their mother was watchful of them, but she wasn’t controlling. She would step in if their tussling got out of hand, but she generally just kept watch

Cloud spent most of his time around the edge of the cave, curiously examining the walls. He had no interest in playing with the other three, and he was curious enough to not constantly stay next to his… mother.

Every time he thought that, he felt a pang of loss for his former mother. The woman who stood next to him and supported him for fourteen years, and continued to support him even when he left for Midgar. The woman who’d died in front of him in a burst of raging flames.

He shook his head viciously to dispel the memories. He didn’t want to dwell on them; the nightmares were bad enough.

The other pups yelped cheerfully as they played, and Cloud let out a breath of exasperation. He turned back to the walls, examining the materia. There were several different types, interestingly enough. He’d been surprised to find that he could instinctively recognize a materia type and eventually figured that the mako taint in Nibel Wolves played a part.

The vein (he was still confused as to how that was actually possible) he was examining now was a vein of Thunder materia. It sent a rush of tingles through him, the hum of electricity a sensation dancing along his fur, making it stand on end. He wrinkled his nose and sneezed.

His… mother, gave an amused rumble as she watched. He glanced back at her, feeling put out. An image leapt to mind of a look Zack had been fond of pulling when he didn’t get his way. On a whim, he decided to copy it, see how effective it was.

He flattened his ears back and ducked his head down slightly, widening his eyes as he sent her a wounded look.

In response, she let out a huff that could only be called a sigh of exasperation. She shook her head slightly and padded over to him, nudging him with her snout in a motion of amusement. His breath whooshed out of him as her nudge rolled him off his feet.

He let out a yip of surprise, followed by a growl of annoyance. Her amusement didn’t disappear.

With an annoyed huff, he stalked away from her.

**. . .**

Cloud ducked down behind a rock, peering out to examine the dragon. It’d been about two years since he was reborn, and he’d gotten used to his new life and new family. He’d learned how to track and learned how to live.

And now he was learning to hunt.

Or rather he’d learned how to hunt along with his siblings, and now they were putting it into practice alone for the first time. He was the diversion to draw the dragon’s attention, since he was small enough to seem like easy prey, and fast enough to avoid being caught.

His size had been a bit of a sore point in his last life and had carried over into this one at first, but had faded with time. Largely because the wolves were very much pack/family oriented units, and everyone did their parts fairly. As such, he wasn’t pushed around and bullied as he had been as a human. His siblings didn’t have any problems teasing him about his size, and they all took pleasure in holding him down while play fighting, but it was all fun and games. They weren’t purposely cruel about it.

It was a nice difference.

With a deep breath, he bunched his muscles and darted out from behind the rock. He ran full-tilt towards the dragon, snapping his fangs at its lowered wings to gain its absolute attention, and dashing back around it. He bit the tail as he moved past it, bone crunching under his strong jaws. Good, that would throw off its balance. With a roar, the dragon spun around to follow him.

It made the mistake of turning its back on the rocks he’d come from, and two of his other littermates leapt out from behind them and, with mighty leaps, jumped up and caught its wings in their mouths. They caught them near the base, where it was just muscle, sinew, and bone. Snapping their jaws closed crushed the base of the wings, eliminating the dragon’s ability to fly. The dragon let out another roar of pain and rose up on its back legs. The two wolves on its back leapt off and dashed off behind the rocks again.

Cloud darted in and snapped down harshly on one of the dragon’s back leg tendons. He continued running past, slipping another painful bite to the dragon’s tail as he ran underneath it. As planned, he kept its attention on him as he darted around, dodging the occasional blast of fire.

He kept making painful and debilitating wounds to both blind it by pain and rage, and to slow it down. Whenever the dragon left an opening, one of the two would dash forward and make a major wound on it. The fourth member of their litter was hanging back, watching the events unfold. His job was to watch and wait for an opportunity to deliver the killing blow.

As Cloud dodged another fireball he took the opportunity to leap up on its back, running up along its spikes until he reached the soft, sensitive spot between its wings. Then he bit down in the exact center of the gap. Hard. In the same instant, the other two darted in and bit down on the tendons in its front and back leg respectively.

The dragon roared and staggered from pain. It’s head lowered slightly, and the fourth dashed forward and, with a powerful leap, bit down with his full strength on the dragon’s neck. Its windpipe was crushed, and a main artery was split open. The dragon shook its head back and forth, a last desperate attempt of survival, but the wolf hung on determinedly.

With a last wheezing attempt at a roar, the dragon collapsed. Cloud and his oldest brother both leapt clear. They landed next to each other and turned to watch the dragon take its last breaths. As it stilled completely and the life faded from its eyes, they exchanged a proud glance.

His older brother and sister made their way over to the two, nudging them in victory. With the wolf equivalent to a grin, their oldest brother threw back his head and let out a triumphant howl. After a moment, the other three did the same.

For the first time in either of his lives, Cloud felt truly included and appreciated.

It was a nice change.

**. . .**

The dragon kill gave the four of them adult status and the pack enough food for a week. After that, rot set in and the body dissolved back into the Lifestream as decomposition set in.

As adults, they were expected to help the pack more. The day after the dragon dissolved, Cloud and his oldest brother were sent out to scout the nearby areas for both food and shelter.

Both were still riding the high from the last successful hunt, and as such were feeling energetic and confident.

_ “Think we will find anything good?” _

_ “We’d better,” _ Cloud retorted.  _ “Mother will eat us alive if we don’t.” _

_ “Good point.” _ His older brother leapt onto a rock pile to survey the surrounding area.

_ “Anything interesting?” _

The older wolf flattened his ears slightly.  _ “The human shelter-territory, so we will need to be careful about going around it.” _

Cloud bared his teeth at the mention of the new town. The  _ fake, Shinra-made _ town that had taken the old town’s place. He’d developed a burning hatred for the company since he’d found out about the new town, as he realized that the company wasn’t even going to acknowledge what had happened.

They were going to  _ hide it _ .

Pretend that it didn’t even happen.

And that was inexcusable.

_ “Yeah, we will. Are we going to go high, or lower on the mountain?” _

The other considered for a moment, then leapt down.  _ “I think we should go higher up. There’s more caves up there.” _

_ “But less prey.” _

_ “We can send hunting parties down the mountain if we need to. But the lower we are, the higher the risk that we’ll be attacked by humans and the harder it is to find caves large enough to fit everyone.” _

Cloud conceded his point.  _ “So we go up.” _

_ “So we go up.” _

**. . .**

Three years since he had been reborn, and Cloud was fully settled into his role in the pack. He was often leading point in search parties, and played the distraction role in large-prey hunting parties. He was also a solo hunter, taking down small prey with ease.

It was during one of his solo hunts that he found the tunnels.

He chased a large rodent down into one of the openings in the mountain, and found himself in obviously man-made tunnels. He immediately turned wary, crouching lower to the ground as he made his way along the wall. The rodent had disappeared, unfortunately. He would have to hunt down another one once he left the tunnels.

He followed the tunnel downwards, ignoring the offshoots until he reached what looked like a dead end. Except- no. There was a small opening in the cleft of the rock, large enough for a fully grown human to fit through. A semi-grown wolf like Cloud had no problems.

The cleft opened to a hallway. A  _ familiar _ hallway. A shudder ran through his body, ears flattening against his head, as he gazed around the entrance to the secret labs. Considering his last memories of this place had been of Sephiroth going mad right before burning Nibelheim, he was entirely unenthusiastic about the idea of hanging around. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, however, the screaming started.

He jerked in surprise, ears pricking up at the sounds of agony. It sounded almost familiar, like he’d heard something similar like-

Zack.

It was like a bastardized, anguished twist of one of Zack’s shouts. A few steps up from his wounded yelps and grunts whenever a monster had managed to land a hit.

His hackles began to raise, teeth baring into a snarl and ears flattening, when he heard the rapid approach of footsteps. His head whipped around as a man stepped around the corner and paused. A navy blue suit, Wutain features, a Turk. The same Turk that had been on the Modeoheim mission. Tseng.

_ “Why aren’t you helping him?! I thought you were his friend?!” _ Cloud snarled at him, even knowing that his words wouldn’t be understood.

The Turk eyed him warily, hand resting on his gun. The screaming stopped abruptly, and Tseng’s eyes flicked towards the door next to Cloud, concern flashing briefly across his eyes before it was quickly masked.

The concern was not enough for Cloud to forgive him for allowing this, but it made him slightly less motivated to rip his throat out. 

But it was a very close call.

The sound of shocked shouts and shattering glass caught both of their attentions, their standoff wavering. A scientist shouted for security backup, and footsteps thundered down the wooden stairs as two Infantry units burst into the hallway. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether to try to hold them off long enough for Zack to break out. The choice was taken out of his hands when one of the scientists inside the labs shouted for the Infantrymen to get in there and hold the SOLDIER back long enough for the tranqs to finish kicking in.

Cloud let out another snarl of frustration. ShinRa tranqs were no joke, there was no chance in hell of Zack breaking out if he’d been hit by them. Those could literally take down a Behemoth. As the Infantry shifted their guns, Cloud spun around and dashed out of the hallway, back the way he had come.

He left with a growl of anger and a silent promise. He would get Zack out of there, no matter what he had to do.

Failure wasn’t an option.

**. . .**

Cloud spent the next year scouting the areas around the mountains, finding the best places for escape and for hiding. What they would do once they got out of the mountains, Cloud wasn’t sure. He supposed that he’d leave it up to Zack. Where Zack went, he went. And he wouldn’t let Zack refuse.

He was both surprised and grateful at his pack’s support. He knew that he had stronger ties to the Lifestream than most creatures, even most monsters, but he hadn’t realized how keenly the other members of his pack had felt it. When they found out what he was planning they had asked for an explanation, and then accepted that explanation with only a few clarificatory questions. They’d accepted and supported him, and he’d never felt felt so overwhelmed by joy and gratification than he was then, especially when they began helping him in his scouting missions and materia/armor collecting.

Of course, they also knew that something was changing. They all felt the shifts within the Lifestream, and noticed how many of the lesser monsters, such as Dorky Faces, began turning more and more aggressive and less and less intelligent. Even the dragons above were becoming more territorial and temperamental. Normally, the wolves and the dragons got along peacefully, casually ignoring each other as they went about their business for survival. The occasional Mako crazed dragon was both target practice and food for the range packs, while crazed wolves were the same for dragons. But the dragons had started getting snappy and suspicious of all of the packs, as though they were expecting to be attacked constantly. Their paranoia was the strongest clue that something was becoming a serious problem in the Lifestream.

_ “If this continues, then the dragons will become as much mindless beasts as the mouth monsters.” _

_ “Bahba Velamyus or Battery Caps?” _ Cloud shuddered either way. A giant mouth with legs, or a carnivorous mushroom with three mouths. They both gave him nightmares.

_ “Human speak _ , _ ” _ his oldest brother dismissed,  _ “both of the mouth monsters are equally mindless.” _

Cloud couldn’t argue with that.  _ “But who’s next after them?” _

His brother sighed, resting his head on his paws.  _ “Us, of course. It is only a matter of time. With both the dragons and the Valrons succumbing to insanity, and all of our food and water sources imbued with the tainted Lifestream, we are… how did you put it? Marching to our doom? We have very little time left, I fear. _ ” He opened his eyes and gazed intently at Cloud.  _ “You must act soon. Even if we are to become mindless beasts, you must not.” _

Cloud flattened his ears, confusion and fear flashing through him at his words.  _ “Why me?” _ Why would he have to leave alone? Why did the others have to succumb to the spreading madness?

_ “Because the Lifestream chose you. You would not be here otherwise. You may leave, you may survive and perhaps even thrive elsewhere, because you remember a time before you were a wolf. These mountains and this way of life is all we have ever known, to leave would be to die. We are all aware of the fact, and we have accepted it. However, whatever is causing the madness to spread, the Lifestream believes that you can stop it.” _

Cloud’s ears pricked back up in confusion.  _ “I can stop it? But… why does it think that?” _

His brother tilted his head.  _ “Did you not before?” _

Cloud’s heart stopped, breath catching in his throat.  _ “But… no, that can’t be right. He’s dead, Sephiroth is dead!” _ He’d killed him, he’d thrown him in the reactor. Into pure Mako. Mako… that regularly leaked from the reactor.  _ Tainted Lifestream… _

He whimpered, eyes widening and ears flattening again as the implications sank in.  _ “Oh Odin… I threw him in the reactor. Even if he died, if he somehow resisted the Lifestream the way I did, more strongly than I did…” _ He turned horrified, shocked, guilty eyes to his brother.

Said brother flicked his ear in contemplation for a moment, then gave the wolf equivalent to a shrug.  _ “If you threw him into the Lifestream leak then it is possible. That knowledge will help you create a hunt to eliminate the threat on the Lifestream’s territory. It is good that you thought of it.” _ Sometimes Cloud forgot how differently humans and wolves viewed things. And then something like this happened, and he was abruptly reminded all over again. Humans would have either blamed him, or found some way of passing the blame off to something else, reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault. Wolves, on the other hand, examined the information given, accepted the facts, and reacted accordingly.

They didn’t believe in holding blame, it did nothing but tear the pack apart. They made sure that the one who made the mistake was aware of the fact, and they ensured that the mistake maker received the due consequences, but they didn’t shun or accuse them. They simply expected them to help fix the mistake.

He shuddered and nodded slightly.  _ “I need more information. I can’t make a plan of attack without knowing what it is I’m attacking.” _

_ “It is unlikely that you will find it here.” _ His eldest brother glanced around.  _ “No prey remains in the area of its predator after escaping.” _ He nudged Cloud lightly.  _ “It is time for you to make your move. You must leave before the madness spreads further.” _

Cloud flattened his ears, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment.  _ “I’m scared.” _

_ “Fear is expected. It is also necessary. It is not debilitating. You know what you must do. You will do it. Fear breeds caution. Do not allow it to breed panic.” _

With a deep breath, Cloud opened his eyes and stood up.  _ “Alright.” _ He paused at the sound of wingbeats, glancing around to find the source of the noise. His ears flicked up as a human figure flew overhead, then passed out of view. Cloud felt his heart in his throat as he stared up.  _ Was that Angeal? No, it can’t be, he died! _

His brother tilted his head.  _ “He was heading towards the mansion.” _

_ “Yeah,” _ Cloud narrowed his eyes,  _ “and he was flying low.” _

_ “Trying to avoid detection.” _

_ “Looks like it.” _

_ “Perhaps we should investigate.” _

_ “Right,” _ Cloud glanced at him.  _ “Are you coming?” _

_ “Of course. You may need help, after all.” _

_ “Thank you.” _

**. . .**

The two wolves slunk down the tunnels warily. The tunnel monsters, the ones left at least, avoided them. It had become common for the wolves to wander the tunnels, exploring the different escape routes and finding Materia and a few pieces of armor, and the monsters there had learned not to attack them.

They reached the break in the wall in time to hear the sound of shattering glass. A few moments later, the winged figure appeared in the doorway. Cloud’s heart stuttered in his chest. It  _ was _ Angeal. Except… not. The man he remembered, the strong and kind Commander who led missions, with a fanclub that had open arms for any Cadet, SOLDIER, or trooper that needed help, even the man who had, at Modeoheim, knocked him out… he had been torn but confident at his abilities.

He had also looked fairly healthy, if a bit exhausted and malnourished.

This man was holding himself wrong, as though he was uncomfortable in his body. His tense stance, as though preparing to defend himself, was off.  _ Cloud _ could have done better when he first joined the Cadet program. And that was just sad. He also had the same flaky, sick appearance that Genesis had had in Modeoheim and worse in Nibelheim. Plus he was wearing a  _ suit _ of all things.

It obviously wasn’t Angeal.

_ “A copy,” _ he sighed, thinking back to the many, many missions getting rid of Genesis copies with SOLDIERs.  _ “Should have known. Though why he’s helping Zack…” _ He must have known the First Class before… everything happened.

He took two steps forward and one to the side, his brother following his lead. The copy faltered for a moment then, likely taking in the intelligence in their eyes, relaxed and inclined his head in the unspoken offer to let him leave.

Right before he ducked down and disappeared, he turned back to look at Cloud. “You know him, don’t you? And you’ll help him?”

Cloud tilted his head for a moment, scrutinizing the man, then nodded.

The man nodded back. “My thanks. Considering who I am a copy of, now, as well as who I was before… I fear I may not be welcome.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and glanced back at Cloud. “Lazard, if the name means anything to you.” Then he turned away, and he was gone.

Cloud stared after him in bewilderment.  _ The Director of SOLDIER? Why is he a copy? And… what did he do before to make Zack mistrust him? _ With a shake of his head, Cloud dispelled the thoughts. There would be time later. For now, he needed to get Zack away from the mansion.

_ “I will scout ahead. Is it likely that he will wish to retrieve something from elsewhere in the mansion?” _

_ “Most likely,” _ Cloud responded with a glance toward the stairs,  _ “I doubt that they would keep his sword and armor near him.” _

His brother inclined his head and moved to the stairs. Cloud watched him go, then turned and darted into the room. He slipped around a desk to see a man in a white coat moving towards Zack, who was lying on the floor in front of a destroyed Mako tank.

He let out a loud snarl to catch the man’s attention, and get him away from Zack. The man whipped around, startled, and Cloud moved forward threateningly. Zack must have heard the noise, because he stirred and glanced blearily around. He tensed when he saw the scientist, and leapt to his feet. The scientist turned just in time to get a fist to his face. He flew back with a cracking sound that definitely didn’t sound healthy, and landed on the floor a few feet away. He didn’t get up.

Zack stumbled forward a couple of steps before falling to his knees. Cloud immediately moved forward to stand beside him, nudging his shoulder gently. Zack was shaking, and when he looked up, there were tears in his eyes.

Cloud let out a soft whine of concern, shifting his weight slightly closer to his friend. The man shuddered for a moment, leaning his head against Cloud’s neck as he breathed.

“… Cloud?” he whispered quietly, desperately, voice hoarse from disuse for anything but screams. He sounded like he was about to fall apart.

Cloud tensed the slightest bit at the sound of his name. It had been years since he’d been referred to as that, and by Zack no less… He closed his eyes and pressed closer to Zack, resting his head on the ex-SOLDIER’s hunched back and nodding slightly.

Zack let out a choked noise and wrapped his arms around Cloud’s neck. He shook, and Cloud felt his tears through his fur. He let out a soft noise, somewhere between a whine and a hum. He wanted to reassure Zack, but he wasn’t sure how.

“I’m so sorry.”

His voice was so quiet that it took a Cloud a moment to realize what he had said, and when he did he let out a soft whine and shook his head.  _ There’s nothing to apologize for, Zack. Nothing that happened was your fault. _

They stayed like that for a several minutes before the sound of shouts and gunfire reached them. Cloud snapped his head around at the distant sound of a familiar snarl. Zack must have heard it too and felt Cloud stiffen, because he pulled away and wiped his face before standing up.

_ “We have to go,” _ Cloud growled.

Zack glanced at him, unable to understand but having a good guess at the message, “I can’t leave without the Buster Sword.”

Cloud nodded, unsurprised, and darted to the door. Zack kept up with him as they raced up the stairs and into the mansion itself. As they left the room and entered the mansion center, they were met with the sight of a large gray Nibel Wolf running circles around a couple of units of Infantrymen. They were doing more damage to each other than to Cloud’s brother. Even as the watched, the wolf timed his jump just right so that four of the Infantrymen shot each other down.

Cloud leapt down to join in, and together they finished the men off. Zack whistled in appreciation.

“Now that’s teamwork.” He swung himself over the railing and landed heavily next to Cloud, wincing slightly as he landed in a kneel.

Cloud perked up at the compliment, then forced his tail to still as it began to wag slightly. He wasn’t an insecure puppy, he and his siblings had worked together to take down multiple enemies a thousand times. This was no different. Except that it had impressed Zack.

His brother sent him an amused look.  _ “Well, well, well. It would appear that there is someone who makes you a pup.” _

It was a turn of phrase that wolves used in amusement. It was essentially the same as the teasing human phrase “looks like someone’s got a crush”. Generally implied due to the fact that puppies often found and attached themselves to an older wolf and followed them around doing everything they could to get approving attention.

Cloud rolled his eyes at him.  _ “He was pretty much the first person in my last life to treat me as something other than a Life-mad runner. Of course I want to keep a good impression to him.” _

A Life-mad runner was the wolf term for Mako crazed, in reference to the way they ran around doing nothing useful and everything destructive after absorbing too much of the processed Lifestream.

His brother huffed in amusement, nudging his side.  _ “The fact remains, he turns you into a puppy. It is good for you, you need someone to finally make you happy enough to act foolishly.” _

Cloud huffed and turned away to scan the mansion.  _ Where would they be keeping Zack’s sword? _

_ “It is this way.” _ Amusement still filled his voice, but there was a solemn note as well. Cloud and Zack, who had been watching the exchange in confused amusement, followed him up the stairs and into a side room. The Buster Sword was leaning up against the wall next to a large wardrobe. In the wardrobe were several clean SOLDIER First uniforms, one of which Zack changed into quickly before settling his sword on his back. 

“Right, I’m ready to go. Unless… hmm… should I try to get some Materia and armor…?”

Cloud rumbled to get his attention, and shook his head, motioning to the door. Zack eyed him skeptically for a moment, then twitched at the sound of a transport truck outside the gate. With a soft swear, he nodded to Cloud to lead the way. Cloud didn’t hesitate, and dashed across the stairs and back to the room with the secret staircase with Zack and his brother following behind.

They made their way back to the break in the wall, where Cloud’s sister was waiting with a green Materia. After the four had gone a few feet down the tunnel, she activated the Quake Materia and the opening of the tunnel collapsed, leaving a pile of rubble. Hopefully, it would cover their tracks. At least long enough for them to escape. Cloud let out a huff of amusement at Zack’s bewildered look, and nudged the man. He glanced down at the golden wolf and grinned wryly.

“Somehow, I get the feeling that this is your fault.” His voice was warm and amused, surprise fading to resignation at the sheer strangeness of the situation. Cloud preened, sending him a smug look. Zack laughed and ruffled to top of his head, the way he used to when Cloud was still a trooper, following behind the cool and nice First Class that liked him for some reason. Where once he would have brushed the hand away with squawk of indignation, and been called a Chocobo for his troubles, now he leaned into it with a rumble of content.

By the gods he’d missed Zack.

His brother broke the moment with a soft bark.  _ “We need to go. If fate favors us the collapse will throw them off, but it may not work forever. Especially not if they bring the blue-clad men to the hunt.” _

_ “Right,” _ Cloud sighed, pulling away from Zack reluctantly. Turks were bad.  _ “Let’s go.” _

Zack seemed to get the message, and he started moving. He and Cloud stayed next to each other, walking close enough that they occasionally brushed, Cloud content to allow his siblings to lead the way. They were far enough ahead to talk without him casually overhearing, though judging by the amused glances they kept sending him he could guess what it was that they were saying.

Eventually, they reached their destination.

They stepped into the cave with the Mako Spring, where the rest of the pack was waiting. This was one of the few places around the mountain where the Mako was pure, and where the Lifestream could reach easily.

The pups were playing, and the older members were relaxing and talking, They all looked up as the four entered, and several of the adults stood up. The pack leader and his mate made their way over with Cloud’s mother and older brother. Cloud and his siblings met them halfway, Zack a few steps behind with a hesitant expression.

The murmur of the Lifestream grew louder for a few moments, and Cloud felt the edges of his awareness blur as the Planet whispered through the cave. Zack glanced around with confusion and awe, though there was wariness in his gaze as well.

_ “It is time.” _

Cloud swallowed, glancing around at his pack. They were watching him, sadness and acknowledgement in their expressions in equal measure.

_ “I know.” _

His mother stepped forward, resting her head on top of his.  _ “You are strong, as I always knew you would be. You have speed, you have strength, you have knowledge, and you have instinct. You have all of the traits needed to be strong and you know how to apply them. The Lifestream chose you and it chose well. You are my son, now and forever, and you are of the pack. You have our strength and knowledge and you will have our gaze when we rejoin the Lifestream. Stay strong, stay firm. You will not waver in the opposition, it is not your way.” _ She licked the top of his head gently, taking a step back.  _ “Do not let doubt misguide you when you know the correct path.” _

The leader raised his head, and Cloud lowered his own in respect.  _ “You know of the Lifestream’s plight. You know of its origin and suspect its cause. You must find a way to purge it from the Lifestream before it destroys it. You leave with our acknowledgement and our acceptance. The pack wishes you well on your journey.” _

It was the formal address to someone leaving the pack, with a twist as he wasn’t leaving to start his own pack, rather he was leaving on an extended journey.

An extended journey that it was unlikely he would come back from. Or that they would still be here if he did.

He bowed his head more, closing his eyes and flattening his ears, then straightening once more.  _ “I accept your acknowledgement, and am grateful for your acceptance. I wish you good hunting and fair weather for as long as the pack survives.” _

It was time. He couldn’t delay anymore. It was time to leave the pack, leave home, and stop the corruption of the Lifestream. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and took several steps back until he was standing by Zack. With one last sweep of his gaze across his family, he nudged Zack and turned back to the tunnels. The man followed him silently, and he could see the confusion and concern on his face. He glanced up at him and flicked his ears, as reassuring as he could. He wished that he could actually talk to Zack, but… well, they’d make do.

He led him through the tunnels, fighting off monsters where necessary, until they reached the armor and Materia stash in a cave leading to the mountain outside. When Zack saw it, his jaw dropped and he glanced at Cloud in shock. Cloud just sat down, sending him a smug look. Zack spluttered for a moment, then kneeled down and slung an arm around Cloud.

“Man Spike, you’ve thought of everything!” He smiled at the golden wolf. “I’d be toast without you, huh?”

Cloud sniffed, headbutting him affectionately.  _ “Yeah, you would.” _

“No need to sound so smug about it, sheesh.” He grinned to take the edge off, and Cloud rolled his eyes in response. He sent a pointed look at the stash, and Zack all too gleefully bounced over to it and began sorting through it.

By the time he was done, he had two Edincoats (with seven slots each), three Fourth Bracelets (with two paired slots and one single slot each), and a Gold Armlet (with two paired slots), all stolen from various dragons’ hoards. Cloud was very proud of himself for finding them and recognizing them. He didn’t bother trying to figure out what materia Zack equipped where, but he knew there was a Restore and a Heal and he assumed that the elementals were paired with All.

Zack put the rest of the stash in his bag to sell later, and looked at Cloud expectantly. Cloud padded to the front of the cave and glanced around, eying the sun setting behind the mountain thoughtfully, then retreating back and lying down next to Zack. The man raised a brow, then shrugged and settled down next to him, setting the Buster Sword across his lap and starting some highly needed maintenance. Cloud closed his eyes and relaxed to the sound of Zack’s work and annoyed grumbles.

When he next opened his eyes, the moon was just rising over the trees and Zack was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He pushed himself up, stretching his stiff muscles with a low whine of relief. When he glanced over, Zack was watching him with an amused grin. He huffed at his friend and moved to the cave opening and scanned the area, looking for any sign of ShinRa. From what he could see, it looked clear.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see Zack standing on his tiptoes, stretching his arms into the air as he let out a low groan. He came back down on his heels and grinned unrepentantly at Cloud’s amused look. He slung his sword on his back and made his way over to Cloud.

“Alright, lead the way oh wise wolf.”

Cloud smacked him with his tail, then began picking his way down the mountain. Zack followed him closely with quiet snickers.

As they neared the bottom of the mountain, with the moon directly overhead, a single howl rose into the air. Cloud paused and glanced back, listening silently. Zack stopped next to him, still and silent as well. As more howls rose up in the air, he closed his eyes. It was a sad song, speaking of farewell and loss, but also of hope. As the song came to a close, he threw back his head and howled a single long note, filled with all of his emotions. As the note died away, and the mountain returned to its former sounds, he allowed his head to fall for a moment. He allowed himself a moment to mourn everything that could have been, and then he returned to what was and what would be. He had Zack, and he had a goal. It was his life, and his journey, and he would see it through.

Failure wasn’t an option.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this was… long. But I like it. I really, really like it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a good enough excuse to allow them to be able to talk to each other yet. Though, now that I think about it, I could technically use the Jenova cells… but that’s kinda flimsy. ‘Cause I mean, neither of them have that kind of control of the cells. Cloud has plenty of her cells because he’s a Nibel Wolf now and her cells leaked all over that mountain. Zack has them because, well, SOLDIER. But they can’t control them so… no go.
> 
> It’ll be fixed once they get to Banora and Zack beats Genesis, thus summoning Minerva and all that. Because there’s no way in hell I’m writing the entire story from Cloud’s point of view if he’s gonna be pretty much useless information wise.  
> I should probably also mention that when they say that Cloud was “chosen”, they don’t mean it like a prophecy. It just means that the Lifestream chose to send him back with all his memories, and there’s probably a damn good reason for it. Like, you know, having the necessary information to fix the problem at hand.
> 
> I’m also gonna need to decide if Zack’s gonna bother “naming” Cloud something when they run into Tifa… I was gonna do Fenrir before Zack realized who Cloud was and the little goldie confirmed it. ‘Cause I didn’t write that. It wrote itself and I’m keeping it. Zack wasn’t supposed to find out until… stuff happened.
> 
> And then Zack was hurting and almost delusional when he got out of the Mako Tank and the first thing he thought of when he saw blue eyes and gold fur was Cloud. Cloud who he couldn’t protect who he sent to his death and he was guilty and was he here again and… yeah. Cloud wasn’t about to lie. So… Zack knows. And I have to rewrite this in my head. This changes so much of my imaginary script that I convince myself I have.
> 
> (I’m making this up as I go along okay? I don’t plan. I had a plan. And then that plan wasn’t character compliant. So the characters rewrote their script. So I’m burning the script and we’re winging this.)
> 
> So yeah. Stuff. This isn’t the end of Zack’s guilty conscience for basically sending Cloud to his death. They will have a lengthy conversation about it after Cloud can actually talk to Zack. Because I wanna write a feels fest. Angst is fun. And I wanna see how many people I can make cry.
> 
> I’m going to be crying as I write it, I already know that.
> 
> Anyway, that's next chapter, so let me know what you think if this chapter!
> 
> Wings, out~!


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